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Sunday, September 9

Dark Chocolate Zucchini Brownies

Well it’s official, my husband and I do not have green thumbs. We planted a wonderful garden this summer consisting of tomatoes and zucchini. We bought cages for the tomato plants to ensure they would have the proper support to grow nice and tall. We even took extra precaution, making sure there wouldn’t be any nutrient stealing, spacing the plants just right. In short we gave our garden the plush comforts it would need to produce bountiful produce.

We had hoped to have plentiful tomatoes and zucchini. In our daydreams we had so much that we had to give them away to friends and family. But reality was far from that. Unfortunately a mysterious animal, we think a deer, had a feast each night while we slept. Due to our garden massacre I instead found myself at the farmers market stocking up on local produce.

I always find myself making traditional zucchini bread, but EVERYONE
has tried zucchini bread. That’s when I discovered
zucchini brownies on Pinterest! WOW, who
knew you could make chocolately goodness out of zucchini?! There were quite a few recipes, but one in
particular by Yummy Life stood out. Dark
Chocolate Zucchini Brownies! Not to
mention they’re egg free which intrigued me.
AND they include greek yogurt which I love.

I love chocolate. And
I love dark chocolate even more. If you
don’t care for dark chocolate, don’t worry as you can still make these. Simply substitute regular cocoa powder for dark
cocoa. And
before you begin, you’ll want to make sure you have your food processor
handy. Unlike many recipes that call for
shredded zucchini, this one calls for pureed zucchini. For
that reason alone I was excited to try it, as my parents bought me an amazing
Cuisinart food processor for my birthday that I wanted experiment with.

The brownies came out great.
They were extremely moist and very chocolately. I couldn’t taste the zucchini, but I think it’s
the key ingredient to ensure these brownies are exactly the opposite of
dry. Plus, if you have kids that aren’t
fond of veggies, it’s a great way to sneak in some nutrients without them
knowing. These do have a different taste
compared to traditional brownies. I don’t
quite know how to describe it, except to say that I liked it. Enjoy!

In a large bowl combine: flour,
cocoa powder, baking powder, & salt. Use a whisk to mix. Add wet ingredients and stir until well combined
and evenly mixed.

Lightly butter the bottom and sides
of a 9x13 pan. Pour brownie batter into
the pan and bake for 20-25 minutes. When
brownies are done, an inserted toothpick will come out clean or with a few
moist crumbs. Cool for 25 minutes before frosting.

While brownies cool, make the
frosting by combining chocolate chips, evaporated milk, butter, and vanilla in a
small saucepan. Heat on the stovetop
over low-medium heat. Stir constantly as
chocolate begins to melt (approximately 5 to 8 minutes).

After chips have melted and mixture
is smooth add the powdered sugar. Whisk until
smooth.